


Night Vision

by Buttons15



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 04:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15501900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buttons15/pseuds/Buttons15
Summary: Serana has pre-battle cold feet.  Aela shows up to help. It gets late, but they both can see in the dark anyway.





	Night Vision

Serana leaned against the railing of the castle spire and let her eyes wander over the horizon. The sun didn’t have the same effect on her as it had on the less pure blooded of her kind, but as it went down she still felt a new, darker kind of power seep through her bones anyway. It had been a quiet day, more than usual, but night brought out the demons, her own included.

The irony was never lost on her – a vampire, afraid of the dark.

They would be attacking during the day, of course – even though Volkihar Castle had enough clouds that it barely mattered, it was still good for morale that the men saw the sun one last time before a fight that would very likely lead them to their deaths. She was weaker because of it, but so were her enemies, and the tradeoff was worth it.

 _‘Traitor,’_ the Voice accused in her head, and she chose to take it as a compliment.

She heard footsteps climbing the stairs, and then the door she’d purposefully left unlocked swung open. She didn’t need to turn to know who it was, the werewolf scent more than enough to warn her. It wasn’t _bad_ , per se, though most of her kind would say it stunk – it just filled her pores with an instant sense of alarm and danger, the certainty that she was before someone she should tread carefully with. Serana appreciated the feeling, for a change.

She twisted her nose and made a face of distaste anyway, just out of habit.

Aela moved next to her and bumped her shoulder with hers. “Good to see my presence is appreciated.”

Serana let her lips curl into a smirk, just enough that her fangs showed. “Did you even shower today?” she snapped with no real bite.

The other snorted. They stood in comfortable silence for a while, watching Masser and Secunda make their ways through the sky. They didn’t talk, but Aela’s mere presence was soothing – maybe because it was her, another creature of the night, someone who understood her more than anyone else who didn’t want her dead.

Or maybe it was because Serana was just so, so terrified of being alone.

 _‘Pathetic.’_  The Voice hissed, and she shifted on her feet.

“This night vision thing really kills the moonlight date romanticism,” Aela said out of the blue, and Serana couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

She was suddenly overwhelmed with feeling – a mixture of surprise and affection and gratitude that was hard to put into words. “I didn’t think you’d come,” she said, because it was the one thing between ‘I didn’t think you cared’ and ‘I was hoping you’d come’.

“Granted, I thought you would at least have brought a snack,” the other teased. “But then again I’m not entirely sure I want you picking the menu.”

“Ouch.”

“Maybe near the full moon,” Aela shrugged. “We could eat a Vigilant of Stendarr or something.”

Serana smiled. She appreciated that – the way there was no attempt to gloss over or ignore what she was. Aela had always seemed comfortable around her, or at least not uncomfortable with what she was. There was wariness between them when they met, of course, but that was the extent of it – caution and mutual respect, but never the kind of terror-induced hatred she got from the men in the Dawnguard and even the vampires on her father’s court.

It was a well-earned fear – and her father had always taught her to pick fear over love – but between the Huntress and the Dragonborn, Serana felt she got a taste of the other side of the coin, of feelings she wasn’t even sure she could ever feel again, and it was just too good for her to let it go. Even if she had to fight for it.

But by the divines, did that thought hurt.

 _‘Traitor,’_ the Voice repeated, and something in her long dead heart tightened.

“I mean it,” she said. “I appreciate… you being here. It’s – it’s not easy for me. I’m scared,” she admitted, then exhaled a nervous chuckle. “I’m scared of what will happen if I fail. And scared of what will happen if I don’t.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to give me pep talks.”

_‘Worthless.’_

“Nonsense.” Aela reached out, hesitated for a second, then covered Serana’s hand with her palm. Her skin was hot enough that it burned, but Serana didn’t pull away. “It’s still your family. This is… this is new for me too. I’ve… been on the other side of it.”

Serana tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

The other shrugged. “I’ve been the person obsessed with revenge – the person who took it way too far.”

“What happened?”

“It had some really dire consequences. Someone important to me died for it. And then I was confronted by the people I loved most, and they told me I had to stop. That’s what did it, really – seeing that this fixation was tearing me from what really mattered.” She paused. Serana felt a squeeze on her hand. “I was just scared, too. And angry. Terrible combination.”

She sighed and made eye contact for a split second, then looked away. “You know, when I… when I had this done to me,” she scoffed, took a deep breath. “I told myself, the first time I looked at myself and saw a beast, that at least I now that I was the monster, I didn’t have to be afraid of them anymore.” She felt a burning in her eyes. “Joke’s on me, because since then I haven’t known a single day of peace.”

‘ _Coward.’_

The other’s hand shifted on hers, interlacing fingers. “Voices bothering you?”

 “I think they were always there, even… before. I don’t know. It’s been so long and I slept so much, it’s all sort of blurred out.” She shrugged. “I thought they’d be bad today but they’re oddly quiet.” She let her lips curl up just a little. “Maybe it’s you. They’re always quieter when you’re around.”

 “Oh?” Aela moved closer so their sides touched. She radiated heat, so much hit her like a jolt, and she flinched. “Sorry, I –”

“It’s okay,” she interrupted, moving her fingers up the other’s arms. An expression of satisfaction crossed her face when she saw Aela shiver. “You’re just incredibly hot,” she made eye contact, took delight when she saw her flush, “In every way. Give me a moment to get used to it.”

Serana closed the distance between them and leaned into Aela’s chest. The heat on her skin hurt, and it was her goddamned curse that she’d physical pain even with someone she wanted that much, as if the demon in her past wanted to make sure she couldn’t have anyone ever again. She was determined to beat it.

She grit her teeth, but didn’t move.

“Uh, are you –”

“Hush, now.”

Silence. She waited. It got easier. Little by little, but it did. Aela’s thumb brushed gently against her cheek, wiping tears she hadn’t realized she’d shed. It left a burning trail where it touched, but she found she could tolerate it, and the gesture warmed her up in a different manner.

“Do you have it?” She asked abruptly. “The blade.”

Before Aela arrived, Serana had caught herself wondering whether the fall from the highest of the fort’s towers would kill her. She knew the answer to that, because she’d tried. There were very few things capable of killing vampires as pure as her or even her father’s half-bloods.

One of those things was Auriel’s Bow, currently held by the only one who could wield it – the direct descendant of the sun-dragon himself, the Dragonborn - also known as the mage with the body of a stick who couldn’t shoot an arrow to save his life, but he was trying, bless his soul. Or souls. Whichever.

The other thing was the Dawnbreaker. Serana would much rather have the bow in the hands of the Huntress, and the blade in the hands of… whomever, really. _Not_ the Dragonborn. Let that kid with his fireballs. Alas, magical artifacts were finnicky that way, and she counted herself incredibly lucky that they were armed not with one, but two of them.

_‘You don’t stand a chance.’_

 “Hn.” Aela grunted. “I have it. I hate it. Not my Prince.”

“ _You_ hate it?” Serana tucked her head under Aela’s chin. “The thing literally hisses at me.” She took a deep breath. “If I can’t make it tomorrow – if the voices turn out to be really _him_ and I lose control – I want you to finish the job. My father, and if it’s what it takes, even me.”

_‘Coward.’_

“Okay.” Aela pulled back, looked her in the eye. Serana hadn’t expected resistance to the idea, and she got none. She appreciated the lack of questioning – her resolve was shaken enough as it was. “Can I ask you something else in return?”

She tilted her head. “Of course.”

“Kiss me.” Aela looked away. “Uh. If you want to. I mean. I’m going to do what you want anyway. But I also like you, and it would be terrible if I had to, you know, kill you without letting you know.”

_It took you bloody long enough._

Serana beamed, amused, because even though lately what they had was unmistakably romantic, it was the first time the other had actually expressed it as such. “You’re rambling. It’s sort of cute.”

Aela turned a bright shade of pink, but before she could open her mouth to reply, Serana pulled her close and pressed her lips to hers. The sensation was unlike anything she’d felt in thousands of years – overwhelming, yes, but it burned in a good way. She couldn’t keep it up for nearly as long as she would have liked, but when she pulled back, Aela seemed more stunned than anything.

She moved again, this time for a hug. “Stay with me tonight,” she asked abruptly. “Just – don’t go. Just for tonight. Hold me to sleep.”

 _The voices are so much louder when you’re gone, and I am scared_ , she thought but didn’t say.

Neither of them even needed to sleep that often, but neither brought that up.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Let’s go inside.”

Serana held Aela’s hand, and followed her in.

**Author's Note:**

> SKYRIMMMMM MY BB IM BACK TO YOU
> 
> About this:
> 
> \- WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE FIC IN THIS TAG I WILL FILL IT UP MYSELF IF I HAVE TO
> 
> \- Whether Serana is schizophrenic or it is actually Molag Bal in her head will continue to be a key point whenever I write her;
> 
> \- This is, I suppose, a story about feeling vulnerable and sharing it.
> 
> \- The dragonborn is a mage twink who matchmakes his friends and no one can convince me otherwise
> 
> "But Buttons those are such bold and assertive characters, why are they so shy around each other?"  
> lesbians be like that sometimes


End file.
